No Rest for the Wicked
by Yunnora Lovespell
Summary: Underfell AU. You are up against Sans and his tyrannical brother in an unforgiving world. You're stuck in a loop: Save. Load. Repeat. Will Sans listen to reason or will you fall victim to the underground's madness?


**Hey guys!**

 **Man I'm having way too much fun with this fandom. I've got so many plot bunnies hopping about in my head I can't get my hands to keep up!**

 **So this one is a little like Acquiescence where you, the player/reader, are battling Sans. However this takes place during a pacifist run of Underfell. So it's a little AU but I always wondered what a pacifist run in Underfell would be like. Probably REALLY intense you know? Anyways, like Acquiescence, it's written in the second person. So,  
**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

You screamed and screamed… and screamed. Bone tore through flesh like paper, red rimming every wound and pouring in never ending rivulets at your feet. The ceiling, the floor. Your body collided with every surface imaginable. Death encompassed every inch of your watery gaze, flashing memories of a happier past at the forefront of your mind before you are forced back into this hellish nightmare. This wicked reality.

Life, death. It all blurs together in this inescapable timeline. Your heart breaks.

SAVE

LOAD

Repeat.

You fell with an unceremonious THUD upon the ground, arms falling limply at your sides. Your body ached through and through; bones clattered, muscles pulling. You knew of no other pain that could surmount this agony.

"Give up kid."

A savage laugh filled your ears but you stayed…

"Is this how you want life to be like? A cruel merry-go-round of loaded save files? Dying every time with no hope of overcoming the inevitable?"

San's words cut like serrated knifes. A tiny piece of your heart chipped away in memory of the sweet blue eyed skeleton who had first welcomed you to the world of the underground. The funny guy always knew how to make you smile, shoveling out puns by the bucket full. You could say he was _Sans-_ ational from the very start. This monster, this creature, was not the Sans you knew.

This red eyed demon and his counterpart, the cool and deviant mirage of a happy spaghetti loving skeleton, were not the friends you knew. They were fun loving and addictive to be around. These ones though, they were cruel. They knew not what love or friendship was. Their hands were thickened in dust and blood, permanently staining their brilliant white bones in splotches of grey and rouge. Every speck, every drop on them reminded you further of your cause- names and faced flooding your mind long before you could even stop them from haunting you.

Every life they had snuffed out had been upon the king's command. You felt a rage burning inside of you.

 _Sniveling coward._

As if sensing your frustration the shorter of the two skeletons grinned his usual smile back at you, the red magic reflecting in his eye fluttering like smoke fumes in the wind. Behind him Papyrus's eyes had lit a furious golden hue. They were brilliant. Beautiful you'd venture to say but only deceptively so. They wanted to kill you and you couldn't forget that fact. If they could not convert you into their twisted timeline then you were better off to them as a trophy on the wall- as another human prize the Great Papyrus could gloat over at Grillby's as he terrorized the simple town folk of Snowdin.

No! You couldn't let this happen.

You had to, you just _had_ to stay…

"Brother I grow tired of your antics."

The shorter skeleton flinched under his brother's frosty words, sweat building around the crown of his skull.

"Y-yeah bro."

The golden eyed Papyrus sniffed, tilting his jaw up at you like you were nothing but trash.

"Human, while your resolve is commendable," The new captain of the royal guard narrowed his gaze on you. "Your defiance grows increasingly irritating."

None too discreetly your dig a shaking hand into your pockets. It hurts to move but your hand doesn't make it far before your body is levitated from the earth. You kiss the ground with a sickening THUMP, your head colliding with the solid surface, causing black dots to dance in your tear filled eyes. A scream tears past your throat and the bones in your leg shatter. Darkness consumed you in an instant only for this brief escape from your misery to come rushing back at you with a blind white light.

FILE LOAD COMPLETE.

You returned to the waking world once more with a SOUL full of health and a heart so utterly broken you feared touching it would send it's pieces to scatter in the wind.

You want so badly to give in. To close your eyes and allow the will of these two foes to wash over you just you could rest. You were so close to the end. You could practically taste the snow of the other time line. The smell of the underground water… Oh how you missed it. All you had was this one last obstacle. You knew Asgore's power would be nothing compared to the two before you and that order would more be restored if you could just get past Sans and Papyrus. But how tired you were, lips throbbing in remembrance of the bruising that flowered in the same spot time and time again.

You don't know how long this battle has been going on for. Minutes? Hours? Days? You've lost count of the number of times you saved and reloaded, every reset setting you back by a number of steps. It would be much easier just to give in wouldn't it?

But no!

You can't give up!

Toriel didn't sacrifice her humanity just for you to cave at the very end. You had a duty to the ones you loved. The very demons standing at your door step to save every living creature in the underground. You had to change their hearts and restore the underground back to the timeline you knew and cherished. You would fix the mess you put them in. You would stay damnit. You would STAY…

"Stubborn. Always were. Always will be." Sans smirked, raising a single bony hand. "I sure find this _humerus_ but Paps here? Eh. Doesn't have a _funny bone_ in his body."

A twitch of a grin touched your face. It hurt to smile but hearing his never ending stream of puns filled you with a warm fluttering feeling.

It was hope.

"SANS!" The towering skeletal figure looming behind Sans snapped at his brother, eyes glowing larger than they had been just seconds before. "GET ON WITH IT!"

 _This version of Papyrus sure had some lungs on him_ , you mildly muse. The true Paps was loud, sure, but with purpose. This guy just wanted to scream to instill fear. To inject terror in everyone around him. Well it wasn't going to work on you. It didn't matter how cool and terrifying he sounded when he spoke his soft tenor. Nor did it matter when he raged like a mad dog. If Undyne had taught you anything it was patience.

Sans glanced so his brother's image was in the corner of his eye, flashing it back you only when he was sure his brother wasn't going to attack him. It's true. Sans should have taken you out by now. Fallen or not Sans was the strongest being you'd come across. He could snuff you out for good by holding you down and continuously torturing you. You've felt the horror of your body being ripped apart. What stops him now from doing so like a record on repeat?

You suspected it had nothing to do with his fear towards his brother but rather everything to do with the words you had spoken to them about freedom and happiness. About the _possibility_ of a world filled with peace. You were finally getting to him. Again you are filled with hope. So filled to the brim with…

Shock filled you as a golden light lit up around you. Your arms and legs were immobile and with a flex of his slender fingers Papyrus used his magic to drag you right towards them. Fear filled you through and through as you were brought just feet before them, your face paling and heart stammering away in your chest. They were within an arm's reach of touching you- of slashing your veins back open and reminding you what death felt like.

Sans stared straight ahead, purposefully avoiding your gaze but Papyrus was staring right at you. His golden orbs glaring into your softer, human eyes.

"This is your last warning human." The captain sneered, his sharpened teeth clattering together. "Allow this world to inseminate you with its hate. You alone will birth a new reign of terror upon all life. Think of the glory that will follow your name when you take the life of the first fallen human"

Your eyes widen. No not this again. He was trying to convert you again. You vehemently shake your head. You didn't want to kill anyone.

"You would rather suffer than have glory?" Papyrus sounded genuine in his confusion. It was easy to mistaken him for the softer spaghetti loving skeleton. "Ignorant."

A sharper hue surrounded you and San's power cancelled Papyrus's out, throwing you back from them like a dirty tissue. The strain on the shorter monster's face had etched a horrible reflection in his one visible eye. He looked hurt. Harmed in more ways than one, especially when you stared pleadingly at him.

"Told ya you'd have a bad time."

The assault continued on your broken and battered body. You SAVEd. RELOADed, rinse and repeat. Again and again. You couldn't bring yourself to shed anymore tears.

"You know," Sans began, tilting his head. "I just don't get it."

You shuddered on the floor. A mess of blood and memories.

"That face... It's like you're trying to forgive me or something."

When you lifted your head, mouth opening to respond, he smirked. He already knew the answer and it sickened him.

"Stupid."

You rolled onto your side with a groan, peering at the end of your arm to the two blurring shapes staring down at you. Sans was heaving at this point. At least you were draining his power. Soon he wouldn't have enough magic to stay on his feet. Then it would just be you and Paps. At least his impatience would end this cycle of death and reloads. You just had to hold out for a little longer.

The tragedy written on your face began to fade.

"Stop it."

You blinked. Spots danced once more in your eyes.

"I said STOP IT!"

A voice was screeching in your ear. Flowy? No, it was Sans. _Stop what_ , you thought feebly to yourself. Can't a human just… smile in the face of danger?

Sans growled and the front of your shirt was pulled so you were lifted off the ground. The taste of copper in your mouth, of your own life essence filled you with…

"I'll end you here and now you little brat!" Sans screamed in your face, sharp teeth just inches from piercing your tender flesh. "You can't! Do you hear me?"

Sans sounded desperate. He was trying to convince himself so something, of that you were sure.

"You can't change anything here. It's kill or be killed."

Sans' hands found themselves wrapped around your neck.

"Don't you understand?! KILL or BE KILLED!" His chest cavity expanded and shrunk as he inhaled large gulps of breath.

You lay limp in his grasp, the bones wrapped like shackles around your throat cutting off precious oxygen. New bruises would form in new time. If he kept this up he's crush your wind pipe. Not that it would be the first time but you knew how much it hurt. Your eyes fluttered dimly in the dark shadows that cast through the hall leading to Asgore. There had been a time when you enjoyed these cathedral like walls, staring out the cloudy windows with conviction. Right now however was not that time. Instead the shadows loomed over you haunters, cackling at you and playing a song to the tune of your fear and uncertainty.

Sans' face fell into a saddened grin that even he could not hide. "Paps here? He's gonna be a star. Even bigger than Mettaton." His chuckle was empty. "Yeah that's right. He's going to be Asgore's advisor. Isn't that great?"

Your fading human eyes merely stared back. _Oh_ , you think, staring over his shoulder at Papyrus's Gaster Blaster. You'd been wondering when that thing would show up.

"Isn't my brother t-the coolest?"

Tears flittered across Sans' cheeks. In all honesty he didn't want to do this. He didn't want to take a life but if he didn't then what sliver of goodness would there be left? His brother would rise in the ranks and achieve happiness where Sans never could. Your ideals of peace and friendship were nothing but a dead man's tracks in the dirt. They would him nowhere but to misery's door. He's suffered enough hasn't he? Why would you keep doing this?

"Sorry you had such a bad time." He said, tightening his grip. He was dedicated to strangling the conviction right out of you. "Just give in kid. Come on. It's easy. Just give up."

You closed your eyes. LOADING IN PROGRESS….

"N-no." _No more of this. This has to_ stop.

Your eyes fluttered open against the pain. "NO!"

LOAD FILE INTERRUPTED…. LOAD FILE **FAILED**

You shivered to life with a gasp, trapped beneath a mad skeleton and his brother cackling nearby. Your fingers clasped onto Sans, the skeleton flinching in shock as you struggled to open your eyes. You have had enough of this. Enough of this silly war. Enough of the dust and blood hanging over your head. You carried the weight of this world and every other time line in it upon _your_ shoulders. You couldn't afford to let the ones you loved down.

Undyne taught you there was more to battle than fists and magic. A true warrior needed patience and understand. To know when a battle was worth taking on and when to set down one's shield for the sake of your opponent. Even if they didn't understand your actions at first. The image of the sharp toothed grin the fish woman had given to you lit your suffocating body with some more than just hope. Something tangible. You just needed to dig a little deeper to reach it completely. Toriel had once said you could find your valor somewhere in yourself and you knew then that in your very SOUL you'd find the answer.

Sans flinched back from you though his fingers never left from the column of your neck.

You grit your teeth against the pain. Oh god it hurt like no other pain in history. Your lungs were burning, very much on fire, as you held back the urge to cough and choke. Blood ran like a river past your lips but not even that would stop you. You had surmounted your own pain, the love of your friends as they floated like afterthoughts in the back of your mind providing you with the strength to grasp the silly skeleton's hands and pry his fingers loose. Sans snapped out of his shock and howled in an attempt to choke you back into darkness.

But you fought valiantly.

Your fingers shook and your grip slipped once or twice, but the skeleton's bony digits could not stop you from achieving your goal. Nothing will.

Your jaw clenched tightly and your fingers dug so hard against bone they started to chip away, but you held fast. One by one the digits came loose; your head now filled, your heart over flowering, your very being radiating! Your light would not be shunned by their darkness. This world cannot and will not keep you from finding the good. From showing mercy.

And as you looked up at that your frightened foe, eyes spilling over with tears ruby lips cracking a long awaited smile, your SOUL's light burst with renewed vigor. The hall shattered away in black and white shards, Papyrus shrieking in the distance as he allowed his magic to swallow him up and take him to safety- but that was ok. You would spare him just as you would with Sans. With your mercy you could finally mend their broken hearts, much as they had mended yours a whole time line ago.

Sans' fingers did not loosen but the acrid sneer on his face diminished, leaving behind two empty sockets. Salty incandescent tears fell past the rim of each socket.

Sans' sob of acceptance… filled you with DETERMINATION.


End file.
